News of Chester Arthur's Death

[From page 1 of The New York Times, November 19, 1886]

DEAD AMONG HIS KINDRED

THE PEACEFUL END OF EX-PRESIDENT ARTHUR.

LONG AND BRAVE STRUGGLE AGAINST DISEASE ENDED BY AN
APOPLECTIC STROKE EARLY YESTERDAY MORNING -- THE STORY OF HIS LAST HOURS OF
LIFE.

Ex-President Chester Alan Arthur died at 5:10 o'clock yesterday morning at
his residence, No. 123 Lexington-avenue. The immediate cause of his death
was cerebral apoplexy, due to the rupture of a small artery within the
brain during Tuesday night or early on Wednesday morning. From the time of
the attack the ex-President did not speak. He did not become immediately
unconscious, but power of speech failed him and consciousness rapidly
dimmed, although almost to the last he showed signs of ability to
appreciate, in an even fainter degree, what was going on about him. In the
closing hour of his life he opened his eyes several times, and at the end
turned his head on the pillow. Then all was over.
His sisters, Mrs. McElroy and Mrs. Carr, his son Alan, Surrogate Rollins,
and Dr. William A. Valentine, assistant to Dr. George A. Peters, Gen.
Arthur's regular physician, were at the bedside. Miss Nellie, the only
daughter, had retired a little before the end. Death came so quietly that
she could not be summoned in time. Assistant District Attorney Arthur H.
Masten, who is a nephew, was also out of the room at the moment. He had
been one of the watchers during the long night. Dr. Peters had been in
attendance nearly all of Wednesday. He went away ad midnight. There was
no occasion to disturb him afterward.
Although from the beginning of his illness Gen. Arthur was not ignorant of
its gravity, his feelings were characteristic of the diseast, buoyant and
depressed by turns. Upon his return from New-London, on Sept. 27, he felt
so much benefited that he was sanguine of recovery. His appearance even
after a Summer of rest and change was sadly unlike the robust picture
familiar to the public eye. Any one who had seen him in his vigor might
have passed him without recognition. The features still remained, but they
were pallid and hollow and the full, straight figure still showed the
emaciation that had alarmed the patient and his friends before he sought a
change of surroundings. But he felt better. He was again in excellent
spirits, and talked confidently of plans for business and pleasure. When
the Presidency of the Arcade Railway Company was offered him, he accepted
it, believing that he would be able to discharge its duties. A few days
after his return he felt so well that he went out driving. The effort
fatigued him excessively. He was not willing to believe the fatigue due to
his enfeebled condition, but laid it to the rough streets. In speaking of
the drive, he used to say, not wholly with jocose meaning, that one of the
aims of his life, after he should resume outdoor activity, would be to
secure at least one avenue over which people might drive to the Park
without being jolted half to death.
After this he became feebler, but was loth to despair. From having been
accustomed to go all over his house, he began to confine himself as long as
a month ago to his bedroom floor. There he read books and newspapers,
mapped out his business plans, and received his friends. He loved to chat
with his old friends. The developments of the municipal campaign
interested him greatly, and he regretted that his enfeebled condition
prevented him for the first time from registering and voting. A fortnight
or ten days ago a spell of depression came upon him. He rarely left his
bed, and grew listless about his affairs. Firing the latter part of last
week he began again to recover his spirits. On Monday he walked about his
bedroom and the room adjoining. Ex-Secretary William E. Chandler was one
of his callers on that day. They had a pleasant talk, in which the past
was recalled and plans for the future were discussed. On Tuesday Gen.
Arthur rose and walked about. He expressed himself as feeling better than
he had for months. When Dr. Peters called he talked with him about going
to the Restigouche to fish next Summer, saying he guessed he would have to
take the doctor with him. Those who rang his bell that night to inquire
after his condition were informed that he was much improved.
As 8 o'clock on Wednesday morning the housemaid went up stairs to prepare
his room for him to rise. When she had done so she asked him a question
about some detail for his comfort. Getting no reply she repeated the
question. She had seen him move as she entered the room and supposed he
was awake. As he still failed to answer she looked at him and saw from his
face that something was the matter. The household was at once alarmed.
Dr. Peters arrived in a few minutes. He soon discovered the cause of this
fatal change. The attack had paralyzed the patient's right side, and while
consciousness had not departed it was plain that death could not much
longer be delayed. While the physician was doing what he could toward
relief Gen. Arthur frequently opened his eyes, as if he understood what had
happened and what was to be expected.
During all of Wednesday the household waited in or near the sick room. Mr.
Knevals called, as did Mr. Ransom, both formerly Gen. Arthur's law
partners, Mr. Masten, Surrogate Rollins, and Lawyer Charles E. Miller. As
each in turn took the patient's hand he opened his eyes and recognition
seemed plain in each case. Further indication of consciousness was
furnished whenever he was desired to take nourishment or medicine, as he
opened his mouth without assistance when asked to do so.
After Dr. Peters went home, at midnight, the watchers at the bedside could
see how life was ebbing. From having been able to recognize faces the
ex-President passed gradually to a condition in which he could barely
distinguish that several figures were near him. Then his respiration,
which had been increasing, became intermittent as well as rapid. He
breathed rapidly for a time, and then not at all, as though the effort to
breathe was exhausting.
The ticking of a clock in the room was the only sound to break the
stillness. Whether or not the patient retained enough consciousness to be
influenced by the clock's ticking, the watchers noticed that he breathed
with nearly every tick. For four hours from a little after midnight his
respiration followed a regular course -- 40 times in 45 seconds, and then
not at all for 35 seconds. This was so regular and lasted over such a
period that those who sat there with nothing to do except to wait for the
end could not help noticing it and timing his periods of respiration and
silence by the ticking of the clock.
By 4:30 o'clock yesterday morning regularity in this respect ceased. By
this time not a sign of consciousness remained. The patient's breathing
became quicker and fainter with longer intervals of silence. He had not
moved for two hours, when at 5:10 o'clock he turned on his pillow. All
knew at once that he was dead.
Charge of affairs at the house was soon turned over to Mr. J.C. Reed, for
many years Gen. Arthur's secretary, and to Surrogate Rollins. They sent a
telegram first to the ex-President's brother, Major William Arthur, who is
now stationed in San Antonio, Texas, and to other relations, and also to
the surviving members of the ex-President's Cabinet as follows: William E.
Chandler, ex-Secretary of the Navy; Robert T. Lincoln, ex-Secretary of War;
Frank Hatton, ex-Postmaster-General; Benjamin Harris Brewster,
ex-Attorney-General; Henry M. Teller, ex-Secretary of the Interior, Hugh
McCulloch, ex-Secretary of the Treasury, and Walter Q. Gresham,
ex-Postmaster-General and ex-Secretary of the Treasury. As undertaker was
then summoned and the funeral was at first set for to-morrow morning at 9
o'clock. It was afterward decided to postpone the funeral until Monday
morning at the same hour. The services will take place at the Church of
the Heavenly Rest, on Fifth-avenue near Forty-fifth-street. Of this church
Mrs. Arthur was a member, and it was the church that Gen. Arthur attended
before his public duties took him away from the city. It was arranged
also that the Rev. D. Parker Morgan, Assistant Rector of the church, should
officiate, Mr. Morgan being a graduate of Union College, from which Gen.
Arthur was graduated. The Rev. Dr. W.A. Leonard, of Washington, will be
asked to assist. The postponement of the funeral is in order to enable
Major Arthur and the members of President Arthur's Cabinet to be present.
To the undertaker were left the preparations for the interment in the
family plot in the Rural Cemetery, at Albany, where Mrs. Arthur's body
rests.
Sympathizing friends began to reach the house early in the morning. The
son and daughter and the sisters remained in seclusion, and no one was
admitted to see the body, which lay in the bedchamber up stairs, where the
General died. Messrs. Knevals and Ransom called among the first. Charles
E. Miller, Henry A. Oakley, Stephen B. French, Warner Miller, James Otis,
Gen. Anson G. McCook, George Bliss, and Cornelius N. Bliss called before
noon. By that time several telegrams of condolence had also been
received.
&,#160;
During the afternoon there was a continual stream of callers at the
Lexington-avenue house. Many left cards only, others conveyed oral
messages of sympathy, and telegrams in large numbers were received.
Surrogate Rollins had rested and was again in charge with Secretary Reed.
To one caller Mr. Rollins said, speaking of his friend's bearing during his
long sickness: "He showed himself a brave and patient man. No one ever
questioned his bravery, but those who knew him best and had observed how in
health he sometimes fretted over small things, being a man of nervous
temperament, will be comforted to know that he bore this great affliction
without a murmur, and even cheerfully. His conduct in sickness
illustrates, as in other notable cases, that a man whom petty things annoy
may be the most patient of sufferers when gravely afflicted." To inquiries
about the ex-President's appearance Mr. Rollins said: "I think he would be
recognized by any one who had seen him only a little when in health. But I
may not be able to judge of that, as I have seen him frequently during his
illness. In the last weeks of his life he certainly had the appearance of
a man who had been stout but had become painfully reduced in flesh."
Among the afternoon callers at the house were Mr. and Mrs. John Bloodgood,
Cyrus W. Field, Mr. and Mrs. George Langden Ingraham, Nathaniel Gibbs
Ingraham, Allan Campbell, Edwards Pierrepont, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Corning
Clark, Gen. Schofield, Mrs. Charles Steele, the Misses Nevins, relatives of
the Arthur family; Mrs. W.S. Hamilton, Gen. George H. Sharpe, the Rev. D.
Parker Morgan, Theodore Frelinghuysen and Miss Tillie Frelinghuysen, Miss
Mamie Maury, Mrs. D.S. Gregory, Mr. and Mrs. Stedman, George S. Coleman, F.
May, the Rev. W.S. Raineford, Henry Clews, Hamilton Fish, Jr., William H.
Kelly, Dr. Hepburn, and Seth B. French.
At dusk a long telegram came from ex-Attorney-General Brewster, saying that
he would attend the funeral, and offering to serve as a pall bearer.
Secretary Reed said the desire of the family was that the members of the
ex-President's Cabinet might act as pall bearers, but that this could not
be determined until all had responded to the notices sent them in the
morning. Word was received that ex-Secretaries Chandler, Hatton,
Feresham, Brewster, and Lincoln will be present.
Last evening the relatives of Mr. Arthur who were present in the city
gathered together and talked of the ex-President's life and read over
dispatches sent by condoling and sympathetic friends. Gen. Schofield, from
Governor's Island, called at the house and offered his services in any
capacity. He also offered a detachment of his command at the funeral. The
family, however, did not care to make the funeral in any manner a military
one and only accepted the tender of a small guard of honor, who will be
present at the funeral and will probably proceed with the remains to their
resting place at Albany. The idea of simple services and funeral will be
adhered to.
A dispatch was received from Secretary Daniel S. Lamont stating that the
President would attend the funeral, and would be accompanied by the
Secretaries of State, Navy, and Interior, and by the Postmaster-General.

THE PHYSICIAN'S STATEMENT.

Dr. George A. Peters, speaking yesterday of some of the features and
incidents of Gen. Arthur's illness, said he had never known a more heroic
patient. Either of his ailments -- Bright's disease or enfeebled and
enlarged heart -- was dangerous. No one attempted to withhold from him the
gravity of his troubles, although, of course, care was taken that nothing
should be said that might needlessly depress him. "I doubt," said Dr.
Peters, "if he ever thought he could recover. Perhaps he hoped the end was
not so near. Yet he calmly awaited any result without a sign of fear. The
common impression that he was a high liver is a mistaken one. He was never
that in the sense in which it is applied to men who really live high. I
mean that he was always careful of what he put upon his table. Through the
greater part of his illness he retained a fair appetite, which might not
have been the case had he spoiled himself with high living.
"The attack that ended his life was not anticipated by him. I had
considered it as among the possibilities, for such an attack is one of the
ways in which the disease he had terminates. When the attack came,
however, I believe he realized that it was fatal, and if I can judge from
the expression of his face I think he was gratified that he was to die so
painlessly. He did not at any time suffer much actual pain. He could feel
and see himself wasting -- that was all."
Dr. Peters said that for fully six months Gen. Arthur's condition was such
that he was liable to die at any time. During that period, although he had
lost flesh, he did not become so much reduced as to shock those who saw
him. Dr. Peters said the face would look quite natural in the coffin.
When asked if Gen. Arthur's illness on the Tallapoosa during his Florida
trip in April, 1883, was a precursor of his last illness, Dr. Peters said
that attack was consequent only on the trip up the St. John's River, and
was not of the nature of the President's last illness.

HIS FATAL ILLNESS.

The serious phase of ex-President Arthur's illness dates from early last
Winter, when he and his friends first became alarmed at the symptoms, and
all but the most hopeful arrived at the unwilling conclusion that a fatal
termination was inevitable. The end had been foreseen long before this,
however, according to a Washington gentleman who knew Mr. Arthur when he
presided over the White House. The story is that at the time Dr. Lincoln,
Mr. Arthur's Washington physician, approached Secretary of State
Frelinghuysen one day and told him that he considered it his professional
duty to warn him that President Arthur had Bright's disease. The doctor
added that while Mr. Arthur might live for many years, he was liable to be
stricken down at any moment. This was in 1883, and the ex-President
survived this warning just about three years.
Of course the statement of Dr. Lincoln was not communicated to the
President, but Mr. Arthur was not entirely ignorant of his physical
condition at this time. If he did not know that he was threatened with the
deadly disease, he certainly had the fear of it constantly before his mind
for years before Dr. Lincoln's professional eye discovered its signs, and
he often expressed this fear to his intimate friends. Apprehension is,
perhaps, the better word, for President Arthur had no fear of death in the
cowardly sense of the word, and when the long struggle with the disease
came, he faced it bravely and fought the battle nobly. But for a long time
before the disease actually appeared, Mr. Arthur had a premonition of its
coming, and he may almost be said to have foretold the manner of his death
long before the disease itself had touched him.
Upon his return from Washington at the close of his term in the Spring of
1885, it was his intention to resume the practice of law, and he settled
himself in offices for that purpose. He began to waste away perceptibly
almost at once, and the preliminary symptoms of Bright's disease began to
show themselves. His friends soon began to suspect the melancholy truth,
and finally. at the suggestion and pleading, Mr. Arthur concluded to take a
long rest in the hope that this might stave off the fatal stages of the
disease. He gave up his attendance at his offices and devoted himself to
the quiet pleasures of domestic life. The early Winter of 1885 found him
an occasional visitor among his friends, and sometimes, though rarely, he
was seen at public assemblages. Gradually, however, he was missed by his
intimates, and his library at home became more and more acquainted with his
presence. Dr. Peters had been attending him carefully for months, but so
secret had the fact of his declining health been kept that it was a shock
of genuine surprise that in February last the public learned that
ex-President Arthur was ill at his Lexington-avenue house, and that there
was danger of his death at any time.
Mr. Arthur was a very sensitive man, and it was to meet his views that the
family preserved a guarded secrecy in regard to his actual condition. He
could not bear to have his friends or the public know that the strong man
whom they knew in health was slowly fading away, and even after the first
reports of his serious illness had been published there were many who
failed to realize its solemn import, so difficult was it to get an
confirmation of the sad news. But in March Mr. Arthur was compelled to
take to his bed for the greater part of the day, so weak and emaciated had
he become. Then the stoutest hearts among his friends began to feat the
worst, and Dr. Peters refused to be longer held accountable alone for the
treatment of the distinguished patient. Dr. Alfred L. Loomis was called in
for consultation, and the two physicians prepared to do the best they could
to prolong a life that was doomed.
Dr. Loomis saw at once that Mr. Arthur's life could not be saved, although
from the nature of the disease it was possible to prolong it for several
months. On the other hand, it was agreed that the patient was in momentary
danger of dissolution. During this time Mr. Arthur passed most of his time
in bed, although scarcely a day passed when he did not arise at some time
and sit up, perhaps, for an hour. He would make great efforts to sit up,
being unwilling to yield to a relapse in the presence of others or to
appear as an invalid. It was at this time that all kinds of rumors spread
in regard to his actual condition. He preferred not to have people see him
in his bed, and very few except his most intimate friends ever found their
way into the sick room. He was a good and brave patient, obeying
instructions without a word, and showing the utmost consideration for his
attendants. He knew at this time that he was engaged in a hopeless
struggle, but he made it bravely and patiently, and his friends refused to
give up hope.
In March the troubles which are inseparable from Bright's disease began to
show themselves, and then for the first time hope sank absolutely in the
hearts of the watchers. He began to lose ground rapidly, and stomachic
derangement and other complications came to add to the gravity of the
situation. His stomach refused to accept or retain solid food, and the
patient was confined to a diet of milk punch, of which he partook but
sparingly, and with little apparent relish. The hopeful features of the
case at this time consisted solely in the fact that Mr. Arthur's mind
continued clear, and that his sleep was fairly regular and restful. But he
kept wasting away, and for weeks the relapse was steady, and there was
little chance for hope that the end was not rapidly approaching. There is
no doubt that at this time the patient's strong will power came to his aid,
and that he did not die then because he was resolved not to die. He fought
hard and bravely, and at length, toward the last of April, signs of
improvement began to be visible. He was able to take a little food, then
there was a suspension of the heart troubles, and finally he managed, with
the aid of loving hands, to rise from his bed and sit up for an hour in his
easy chair. That crisis had passed safely, and the anxious watchers again
began to hope.
Mr. Arthur's rally from this relapse was slow, but effectual, and about the
middle of May he felt well enough to drive out. He was driven to Central
Park on May 18, 19, and 22, spending an hour in each trip. The first two
drives apparently did him food, but he came back from the third so weak and
exhausted that he was obliged to go instantly to bed, and his physicians
feared for the result of the experiment. He had not at this time fully
recovered the ground which he had lost by the relapse, and it was feared
that the excitement had driven him backward. Careful attention, however,
brought him back to his condition before the trip, and he continued to
improve slightly until the warm weather fairly set in.
Then it was decided to remove Mr. Arthur from the city, and try the effect
of more bracing air on his system. On June 24, accompanied by his sisters,
Mrs. McElroy and Mrs. Carr, and his children, Nellie and Clare, with Dr.
Peters, he was taken in a special car to New-London, where he was
established in one of the Pequot cottages. Here, under the influence of
perfect rest and the pure air of the Sound, he spent the warm months,
neither improving perceptively nor retrograding. He was brought home again
on Sept. 27, in no better condition than when he left, and, in a case of
Bright's disease, to be no better is invariably to be worse. It was very
evident from that time that no human aid could avail to restore the
patient to health, and the family looked on sadly and patiently waiting for
the end. Very few were permitted to break the silence of the sick man's
house, and little news of the life that was passing away was permitted to
penetrate the outer world. This state of affairs continued until the
announcement of his death yesterday morning.

HIS PROPERTY AND HIS WILL.

Gen. Arthur is believed to have brought with him from Washington something
over $100,000 of his salary as President. He owned considerable real
estate in this city, and was always careful to keep it free of assessments
and taxes. It includes property on Sixth-avenue above Central Park, known
as the Red House property. His estate, including personal, is thought to
be between $200,000 and $400,000. Alan and Nellie Arthur inherited from
their mother property valued at about $100,000, consisting principally of
real estate and stocks. Gen. Arthur owned real estate also at Long Branch.
He made a will several years ago, which will be read possibly to-morrow
evening after the return of the funeral party from Albany, or early next
week. Mr. Knevals said yesterday that he believed the will contained only
private bequests. The natural heirs to his property are a son, Chester
Alan Arthur, who is 21 years old, a graduate of Princeton College and now a
student in Columbia Law School, and a daughter, Miss Nellie, who is about
14 years old. It is understood that provision is made for the appointment
of a well known personal friend of Gen. Arthur as guardian for his
daughter.

THE LAST RESTING PLACE.

THE ARTHUR PLOT AND IT SILENT DENIZENS IN THE RURAL
CEMETERY.

Albany, Nov. 18. -- The Rural Cemetery, where ex-President Arthur will be
laid to rest on Monday afternoon, is beautifully situated on a ridge
overlooking the valley of the Hudson, two miles north of this city. It is
a city of the dead filled with costly and artistic monuments. The grounds
are artistically laid out, and the gently sloping hillsides contain the
remains of many distinguished citizens. The Arthur lot, in which there is
a small elm tree, is on the South Ridge road, on a rolling rise of ground.
During the Spring and Summer months it is one of the prettiest spots in the
surrounding sea of verdure and white capped marble monuments; but to-day,
as the wind whistled through the leafless trees and the rain fell in
torrents, the friends of the dead statesman who visited the plot to select
the spot for the interment found it a most dreary place.
They decided that the ex-President should be buried at the right of his
wife, over whose grave is a sarcophagus of Italian marble about 6½
feet in length and about 2½ feet in height and width. On the top,
which is slightly raised at the middle, is a cross which is chiseled out of
the solid white marble and reaches the full length of the sarcophagus.
About the edge of the block, carved in large letters, is this inscription:
"Here lies the body of Ellen Lewis Herndon, wife of Chester A. Arthur, born
at Culpepper C. H., Virginia, August 30, 1887; Died at New-York January 12,
A.D. 1880."
The sarcophagus over the grave of Mrs. Arthur rests on a blue stone slab,
about five inches thick, which extends about three inches beyond the
sarcophagus block. Facing the sarcophagus are two plain marble tombstones
about 18 inches apart. They mark the last resting place of the Rev.
William Arthur, D.D., and his wife, Malvina, ex-President Arthur's father
and mother. The inscription on the marble over the grave of the father
follows: "The Rev. William Arthur, D.D. Born County Antrim, Ireland, 1796.
Died at Newtonville, Albany County, Oct. 27, 1875, aged 79." This appears
upon the tombstone over the grave of the ex-President's mother: "Malvina
Stone, wife of William Arthur. Born at Berkshire, Vt., April 29, 1802. Died
at Newtonville, Jan 29, 1869, aged 67 years. 'Her children rise up and
call her blessed; her husband also, and he praised her.'"
To the left of the graves of the reverend gentleman and his wife is a
partially moss-covered slab, which lies flat upon the ground, and is
nearly buried in the sand.
It marks the grave of Jane, the daughter of William and Malvina Arthur, who
died April 15, 1842, aged 18 years. To the left of the grave of Mrs.
Chester A. Arthur is a small cross-shaped tombstone, on the base of which
is: "William Lewis Herndon Arthur. Died July 8, 1863, aged 2 years and 7
months." Still further to the left of this grave is the resting place of
William Lewis Herndon, who was born at Culpepper, Va., Oct. 10, 1817,
and died at Hyères, France, in April, 1878.

Note from Manus: David
Botts, keeper of a geneology
of persons related to the family Botts, e-mailed me with notice that William
Herndon Arthur, President Arthur's father-in-law, was actually lost at
sea in 1857, aboard a mail steamer which sank with $3 million onboard.
It is the President's mother-in-law, Mrs. William
Lewis Herndon, who is buried near President Arthur. The error is in the Times
obituary text.

President McCann has called a special meeting of the Common Council
to-morrow evening to give municipal expression to the sentiments of our
people at the loss the Nation has sustained. The late ex-President was a
life member of the Burgesses Corps, and also of the Grant Club, both of
which organizations which hold meetings and take suitable action. It is
probable that they will attend the funeral on Saturday.

THE PRESIDENT TAKES ACTION.

ORDERS
ISSUED FOR THE USUAL OFFICIAL TRIBUTES TO THE DEAD.

Washington, Nov. 18. -- The news of the
ex-President's death was received in Washington between 8 and 9 o'clock.
President Cleveland was on his way to breakfast when a sergeant of police
on duty at the White House informed him that a message had just come on the
telephone that Mr. Arthur was dead. The president was greatly shocked and
at first incredulous; but subsequently a telegraphic message from Mr. James
C. Reed, one of the late President's confidential secretaries, set all
doubt at rest. The flag at the Treasury building was one of the first to
be lowered at half mast, and a painful rumor was started connecting
Secretary Manning's name with the occasion. Inquiries, however, and press
bulletins soon disseminated the truth. The White House was at once draped
in mourning, the bunting used being the same employed for the late
Vice-President Hendricks.
Words of affectionate remembrance of Gen. Arthur's good qualities and
notable services, particularly in the cause of human freedom, are heard on
every hand. The colored citizens of Washington have always remembered his
early and gallant championship of their cause in connection with the
fugitive slave law case, and the Star this evening voices what
seems to be a general sentiment in saying: "He retired from office with a
thousandfold warmer esteem on the part of his fellow-citizens than he
enjoyed when entering it; a whole nation will lay a mourner's tribute on
his grave." The following official orders were issued:

I.

EXECUTIVE
MANSION Washington, D.C., Nov. 18,
1886.

To the People of the United States:
It is my painful duty to announce the death of Chester Alan Arthur, lately
the President of the United States, which occurred after an illness of long
duration at an early hour this morning at his residence in the city of
New-York. My Arthur was called to the chair of Chief Magistracy of the
Nation by a tragedy which cast its shadow over the entire Government. His
assumption of the grave duties was marked by an evident ant conscientious
sense of his responsibilities and an earnest desire to meet them in a
patriotic and benevolent spirit. With dignity and ability he sustained the
important duties of his station, and the reputation of his personal worth,
conspicuous graciousness, and patriotic fidelity will long be cherished by
his fellow-countrymen.
In token of respect to the memory of the deceased it is ordered that the
Executive Mansion and the several departmental buildings be draped in
mourning for a period of 30 days, and that on the day of the funeral all
public business in the departments be suspended. The Secretaries of War
and of the Navy will cause orders to be issued for appropriate military and
naval honors to be rendered on that day.

[Seal.]

Done at the city of
Washington this eighteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the one hundred and eleventh.

In compliance with the instructions of the President, on the day of the
funeral, at each military post the troops and cadets will be paraded and
this order read to them, after which all labors for the day will cease.
The national flag will be displayed at half staff. At dawn of day 13 guns
will be fired, and afterward, at intervals of 30 minutes between the rising
and setting of the sun, a single gun, and at the close of the day a
national salute of 38 guns. The officers of the army will wear crape on
the left arm and on their swords, and the colors of the Battalion of
Engineers of the several regiments, and of the United States Corps of
Cadets will be put in mourning for the period of six months. The date and
hour of the funeral will be communicated to department commanders by
telegraph, and by them to their subordinate commanders.

By
command of Lieut.-Gen. SHERIDAN.
R.C. Drum,
Adjutant-General.

The Department of State will also send out a formal notification of the
ex-President's death to all United States Ministers and Diplomatic
representatives. President Cleveland and several members of the Cabinet
will leave here Friday night for New-York to attend the funeral. The
Senators below named will attend the funeral on behalf of the Senate: John
Sherman, George F. Edmunds, John A. Logan, William B. Allison, M.C. Butler,
James D. Cameron, D.W. Voorhees, Warner Miller, George G. Vest, A.P.
Gorman, Joseph R. Hawley, and James K. Jones.

ROBERT LINCOLN'S ESTIMATE.

Chicago, Nov. 18. -- Judge Gresham and Robert Lincoln, who will be two of
the pall bearers at Gen. Arthur's funeral, left for New-York this
afternoon, and ex-Collector Jesse Spaulding, who was an intimate friend of
Gen. Arthur, took the evening train.
"My acquaintance with Gen. Arthur," said Mr. Lincoln this afternoon,
"really began with my official connection. Not only did I learn to respect
him most highly, but to have a great personal affection for him. It always
seemed to me that he overcame in an admirable manner the difficulties
surrounding him when he became President. While an earnest Republican, he
was above all a patriotic citizen, and I know of no act of his in which he
did not have at heart the public interest. I think it is universally
conceded that as fat as he was responsible, he was able and dignified. His
official appointments were always considered with the greatest care, and if
any were subject to criticism, it was because of misinformation given him.
He was especially earnest in carrying out not only the letter, but the
spirit of the civil service law passed during his Administration. In our
foreign relations he was as earnest and patriotic as could be desired.
There was no need for aggressiveness, but he clearly recognized our
situation and repeatedly urged Congress to strengthen his hands. He was a
President of whom the country is proud, and for whom it may well mourn. It
was with great regret that I heard the news of his death, but it was not a
surprise. I saw him in July, and it was manifest then that he could not
live long, though he did not consider himself as near death as he appeared
to be, and as his physicians told me he was."

SENATOR HARRISON ON ARTHUR.

Indianapolis, Nov. 18. -- The news of the death of ex-President Arthur was
received in this city with surprise. The conflicting reports concerning
his health, closing recently with a statement that he was very much better
than usual, left no ground for the supposition that the end of his career
was at hand. To-day's announcement occasioned regret, but there was no
public demonstration of grief. Senator Harrison said:
"My acquaintance with Mr. Arthur began after his nomination for the
Vice-Presidency. I recollect that I was much pleased with him, and that I
suggested to him that he should come out West and let the people see and
hear him. I felt sure that the people would be pleased with him, and that
he would have a pleasant time. He was a man of very agreeable address; he
was cordial and very kind. He was possessed of many fine qualities, and
was a man of more ability than many of our people supposed at the time of
his nomination. He had social qualities of a very high order, and
attracted many friends in the opposite party. I was in the Private
Secretary's room at the White House and saw Gen. Arthur come out from an
interview with Mrs. Garfield, and possibly with the dying President, after
the shooting of President Garfield. He showed deep feeling and seemed to
be overcome with the calamity. I think he bore himself under the delicate
circumstances of the assassination with wonderful propriety and great
dignity, and he won the hearts of many of those who had before felt perhaps
in some degree unfriendly by reason of his attitude in the Conkling
controversy. My own relations with him after he became President were
always of a friendly but not an intimate character. I greatly regret to
hear of his death."